This invention relates to subsoil tillage and, more particularly, to an attachment to a subsoil ripper to improve crop growth in areas where deep tillage is needed.
Long-term continuous cotton production in the soil of the Tennessee Valley region of northern Alabama has resulted in soil degradation due to soil erosion, loss of organic matter, and soil compaction. This degradation has slowly reduced the cotton yield potential in the region and has caused farmers to look for alterative cropping systems to improve soil quality. As a result some farmers turned to a no-tillage system in the early 1990s. However, the no-tillage system increased soil surface compaction, restricted root growth, and reduced yield compared to conventional tillage. These complications have been key in preventing the widespread adoption of this system (Burmester, C. H., et al., 1993, No-till cotton growth characteristics and yield in Alabama. p. 30-36, in P. K. Bollich (ed.) Proc. Southern Conservation Tillage Conference for Sustainable Agriculture, Monroe, La., 15-17 Jun. 1993, Manuscript no. 93-86-7122, Louisiana State Agric. Exp. Stn., Baton Rouge, La.). It was thought that one no-tillage system utilizing deep tillage could reduce soil compaction and still improve soil quality (Raper, R. L., et al., Appl. Eng. Agric., 16(4):379-385 (2000); Schwab, E. B., et al., Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 66:569-577 (2002)); this modified no-tillage system was expected to produce yields similar to conventional tillage, reduce soil compaction, and increase soil organic matter. However, the soil conditions below the deep tillage depth were degraded as a result of the deep tillage. The higher clay content commonly seen below the tillage depth resulted in an increase in soil compaction and soil smearing. This compaction and smearing are believed to restrict root growth and water movement below the tillage depth.
We have developed an attachment for deep tillage shanks to reduce or eliminate these problems in soils and regions similar to those found in the Tennessee Valley region of north Alabama.